Has Star Trek Been Forgotten?

[Admiral_Young]

I ask this question becuase of the reception the teaser trailer got in the theatre I saw it in a few months ago. It was practically meh...there were only a few reactions on the positive side. I'm curious if Star Trek has been forgotten in the main stream pop culture? Aside from us and other Trek fans who will always keep the flame bright...its been six years since the last movie came out, three or four since the end of the last series which wasn't viewed in that great a light by fans in general and neither was the movie for that matter. I'm wondering if Star Trek has been forgotten and if next summer's movie will be enough to incorperate it back into the mainstream consciencess??

 

[Therin of Andor]

I ask this question becuase of the reception the teaser trailer got in the theatre I saw it in a few months ago. It was practically meh...there were only a few reactions on the positive side.

You were in the wrong cinema. Or town.

It got a wonderful reaction with the first-night "Cloverfield" crowd I saw it with!

 

[Mistral]

Here in the LA area people put far greater stock in movie/tv news than the rest of the country so the LA Times reported "raucously favorable" reactions to the trailer when it premiered. From what I've heard from friends in other places who went to Cloverfield there was similar reactions in Az, Wash, Tx and Colorado. FOr what its worth.

Forgotten? No. And the hype hasn't even started yet...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It's been forgotten by the great mass of people. But that doesn't mean diddly squat about its potential for revival, which will depend entirely on the strength of the movie and the marketing.

A couple weeks before the Iron Man premiere, a friend and I were driving around and we saw a billboard for the movie. My friend said the movie would crash & burn, because "who the hell has ever heard of Iron Man?"

And he has a point - Iron Man was nowhere near the level of awareness that Star Trek has, even off the air for several years. Iron Man is just a second-tier Marvel comic book character and the vast majority of people ignore comic books.

But I told him the low profile of Iron Man would have no bearing on the movie's success and predicted it would be one of the summer's top hits (based pretty much on my faith in Marvel taking over their own titles, and on Robert Downey Jr.). And if it doesn't matter for Iron Man, it matters less for Star Trek.

The teaser marketing will aimed at the core Star Trek fanbase. In fact a lot of the initial marketing will. The idea is to get us in the theater the first weekend and start up positive word of mouth, which will drive everyone else into the theaters.

 

[Lindley]

Star what?

 

[greenmystik]

Haha, very funny.

 

[Dr_Daystrom]

It's been forgotten by the great mass of people. But that doesn't mean diddly squat about its potential for revival, which will depend entirely on the strength of the movie and the marketing.

A couple weeks before the Iron Man premiere, a friend and I were driving around and we saw a billboard for the movie. My friend said the movie would crash & burn, because "who the hell has ever heard of Iron Man?"

And he has a point - Iron Man was nowhere near the level of awareness that Star Trek has, even off the air for several years. Iron Man is just a second-tier Marvel comic book character and the vast majority of people ignore comic books.

But I told him the low profile of Iron Man would have no bearing on the movie's success and predicted it would be one of the summer's top hits (based pretty much on my faith in Marvel taking over their own titles, and on Robert Downey Jr.). And if it doesn't matter for Iron Man, it matters less for Star Trek.

The teaser marketing will aimed at the core Star Trek fanbase. In fact a lot of the initial marketing will. The idea is to get us in the theater the first weekend and start up positive word of mouth, which will drive everyone else into the theaters.

Iron Man has been one of the most anticipated comic book to live action movies ever. Iron Man was very popular when I was a kid in the 60's. Tom Cruise was connected with the project at one time. Comic fans have been waiting decades for this film, with just as much anticipation as Spider Man. It's opening weekend box office says it all.

As for Star Trek, it's part of our lexicon. Even non-fans know what Star Trek is and what it represents. Remember, it was 10 years after TOS was cancelled before TMP was released. But even after all that time the lines at the theaters went around the block. Yes, we're in a Trek "slump" right now on TV, but it's coming to a theater near you again, and it's always alive in novels, fan projects, and reruns.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I don't think it's been forgotten. It's just been in sort of a hibernation for a couple of years as it's been out of the public eye.

I think it' needs to lose some of it's 'this-only-appeals-to-nerds' image...but I think that was part of the reason Abrams was hired.

 

[Dr_Daystrom]

Just Google "Star Trek" and you'll get a listing of over 47,000,000 pages! And not just websites selling merchandise or fan tribute sites. Sites like "The Science of Star Trek" and "Lessons From Star Trek".

 

[Warp Coil]

Iron Man has been one of the most anticipated comic book to live action movies ever. Iron Man was very popular when I was a kid in the 60's. Tom Cruise was connected with the project at one time. Comic fans have been waiting decades for this film, with just as much anticipation as Spider Man. It's opening weekend box office says it all.

Iron Man also appealed to non-fans. I knew absolutely nothing about the character or story of Iron Man before the film came out. But I went to see the film anyway because it looked good, had good marketing and received very promising reviews before its release. I loved it!

Trek needs to capture the same thing - it needs to appeal to all the fanboys (who are going to pay to see it anyway) as well as the "average joe" who's never watched a single frame of Trek in his life.

 

[blockaderunner]

Just Google "Star Trek" and you'll get a listing of over 47,000,000 pages! And not just websites selling merchandise or fan tribute sites. Sites like "The Science of Star Trek" and "Lessons From Star Trek".

So? You can google "beastiality" and get the same, if not more, number of pages. Doesn't mean a vast number of people are running out for the big ol' orgy down at the state fair.

Walk down the street and ask the first person you see if they know that there is a new Star Trek movie being made. That's your true vox populi. Not a bunch of fans with url's and too much time on their hands (Lessons From Star Trek? Okay)

 

[Carpe Occasio]

Just Google "Star Trek" and you'll get a listing of over 47,000,000 pages! And not just websites selling merchandise or fan tribute sites. Sites like "The Science of Star Trek" and "Lessons From Star Trek".

So? You can google "bestiality" and get the same, if not more, numb er of pages. Doesn't mean a vast number of people are running out for the big ol' orgy down at the state fair.

Walk down the street and ask the first person you see if they know that there is a new Star Trek movie being made. That's your true vox populi. Not a bunch of fans with url's and too uch time on their hands (Lessons From Star Trek? Okay)

I feel my original point is still valid. Star Trek is part of our modern day cilture, part of our language. Even people who hate science fiction know what Star Trek is. And it permeats all avenues of media. TV, film, books, comics, the Internet, iPods, etc. There is always an audience for Trek, in one form or another (and eventually TV again).

 

[Joshua Howard]

Not sure about everyone else, but I'm waiting for the new Trek movie with - so to speak - baited breath, and I fully expect to be in a theatre to see it opening night.